News: New dean at FIU College of Business chosen

David R. Klock, Ph.D., has been appointed dean of Florida International University's College of Business and Ryder Eminent Scholar in Business after a national search, FIU announced Tuesday. He will start at FIU on Oct. 1, succeeding Joyce J. Elam, who has served as dean since 1998.

Elam, who grew the business school and launched pioneering online programs during her tenure, will continue her role as dean of University College, overseeing FIU Online and the university’s market rate and continuing education programs, FIU said.

Klock is dean of the School of Business at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and serves as the university’s Wells Fargo Chair of Business Administration. He has also been dean of the College of Business Administration at Cal Poly Pomona, has held faculty positions at Virginia Tech, University of Florida, Texas Tech, and the University of Central Florida, and was professor and chair of the Department of Finance at UCF.

Klock also spent 15 years as president, chief executive officer and then chairman of CompBenefits Corp., which was sold to Humana in 2006. During his tenure there, CompBenefits’ revenue rose from less than $20 million to more than $350 million.

Klock earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Northeastern University in Boston, and his master’s degree and doctorate in finance from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

At UAB, Klock has helped lead efforts to commercialize intellectual property stemming from UAB’s over $450 million of annual sponsored research, and facilitated cooperation between business, engineering, and medical schools to partner on cross-disciplinary, market-driven academic programs and expanded research, FIU said.